A Dangerous Secret

Though Calista had put on airs and had convinced her parents of her ‘propriety’ she had one, large secret she had kept for a long time, Ragon. He was the son of a blacksmith and though she had never lain with him she certainly wanted to. Like Eldarion they had become friends though only really in secret. He was a kind boy though not quite as intelligent as most others, he had vast amount of compassion and an uncanny way with animals unlike anyone she had even known. Her parents would hardly have approved but her father often did business with his father Iman and so often she was set to waiting until his business was concluded and thus their friendship was born. When Eldarion and her were further apart she’d run to Ragon and if his large arms around her did not suffice, his lips had with talk that alluded to one day they would be together though that, like everything else changed when she and Eldarion were not so distant. What she took as comfort in Ragon’s arms he took as love and as a result her marrying Eldarion had come as a blow to Ragon. A terrible one that he could not just let go unanswered. He loved Calista and would tell her how happy he could make her if she only chose him instead.

Eldarion knew about Ragon. Calista had never held anything back from him. He ofcourse took no issue with her close friendship with him. He was not like her parents after all. He wasn’t friends with the man himself but as the weeks ticked by and the wedding loomed ever closer Ragon decided that he needed to confront Calista. He asked her to meet him in the Western, 3rd level stables where they usually met, he shoed horses there some mornings and he wanted to speak to her. That early not many people would be out and even fewer came to those stables in particular that early.

He was dressed in his dark brown wool pants and cream colored cloth shirt as usual but he had not yet donned his apron or set to work. He wanted to be clean for Calista, this was his last ditch effort to get her to marry him, regardless of what her parents might say.

Calista had been both surprised to receive the note from Ragon asking her to meet him in the stables. She had been friends with him for a long time and had no idea what he could want to speak to her about, other than to congratulate her on her upcoming wedding to Eldarion. Over the years, she had spoken with him quite a lot about Eldarion. She had taken comfort in his arms when Eldarion would pull away from her, not realizing his own growing feelings for her. She confided in him and trusted him as much as any other person in her life. Eldarion knew about Ragon. She never wanted to lie to him or deceive him in any way, particularly when it came to other men. She considered Ragon a true friend, who would never hurt her.

That morning she dressed in a light blue dress and left her blonde hair down. It was warm that morning and the sun was shining brightly in the sky. Calista could hear birds singing and chirping all around and it made her heart even happier to hear them. The wedding was now just two weeks away, though she wished it could be tomorrow. She walked down to the third level stables and walked in. She paused when she saw Ragon. He looked nice...very nice and clean. She had never seen him this clean before.

“You look very nice,” she complimented, though she was now really wondering what this was all about.

Ragon was almost startled when he heard her voice and stood quickly, his eyes cast down though he did take in her pretty dress. “Well, you’re...uh, you’re beautiful as always Calista,” he complimented. “Thanks for coming, I...I wasn’t sure you would considering…” He said trying not to sound too sappish. He took in a breath as he moved further into one of the stalls to check the shoes on a large gray that he needed to reshoe today. He felt...nervous and his palms were sweating. He wiped them on his pants then picked up one of the horse’s rear hooves to look at it. He set it back down as she followed him into the stall. He took a step toward her then thinking better of it turned and took a step away toward the stall door. With his back to her he nodded to himself then turned back to face her, his face a mask of anguish.

“Calista...I...I love you and I want to marry you. I know you are supposed to marry Eldarion but I can know your parents are pushing you,” he said as he came up and put his large hands on her shoulders. “I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember and I need and want you as my wife. I...uh, I don’t have much but I’ve saved some money for a start. We can go wherever you want, you don’t have to do this...please, be my wife?” he asked as his large, dark eyes fixed softly onto hers.

ooc: Awkward!

Calista could sense Ragon’s uneasiness and it grew by the second. She watched him. He seemed very nervous and figidity. When he appeared to duck into one of the stalls she followed after him, but he then almost tried to get away from her. She just stood there watching him from behind as he stopped in the doorway and finally turned to face her. At his confession she felt her eyes grow wide in surprise. He loved her? How did...when did...her mind was a whirlwind of questions. She could hear him then asking her to marry him and she felt herself begin to tremble slightly. She didn’t want to hurt him. He was her friend, but she didn’t love him….she loved Eldarion. Eldarion was the only one she had ever loved.

There was a long, almost uncomfortable moment of silence before Calista finally spoke.

“Ragon...I consider you one of my dearest friends...but I don’t love you as you do me. I had no idea of your feelings and for that I am very sorry because I feel that I have perhaps been leading you on. That was never my intention.” Tears began to fill her eyes. “I love Eldarion. Our parents aren’t pushing us into this marriage. He asked me on his own and I made sure it was what he truly wanted. I am truly sorry if I have hurt you…but I cannot marry you."

His large dark eyes looked a bit misty but before he said anything else he took her up into his arms and kissed her...thoroughly. In his mind she had kissed him back. What she actually did was try to turn away but he had managed to get his lips to hers before she could. It was when she put her arms up to put distance between them though he didn’t really budge, he was a large man. Thick and broad. “I don’t believe you, you’re putting on a good face to it all...I know you are, you always do but you don’t have to be strong with me,” he told her then tried to kiss her again.

Calista saw Ragon step towards her and she tried to step away, but she was backed into a corner there in the stall. Before she could say anything he drew her towards him and kissed her rather deeply. She did not kiss him back and tried to get away, but his arms held onto her tightly. Finally, he pulled back and she felt herself starting to become upset and angry. When he tried to kiss her again she managed to get her right arm free and she slapped him across the face.

“I said no Ragon...now please let me go.”

Her slap hurt his pride more than anything else and he didn’t understand. He knew she didn’t like him to manhandle her but he needed her to see reason. He shook Calista once, a bit harder than he intended. “Listen Calista, I know you have feelings for me, and I know your folks won't have anything to do with me but...but what if Eldarion didn’t want you anymore?” He reasoned. He wasn’t a smart man but this somehow made sense to him. If she were no longer a virgin Eldarion, the King’s son, wouldn’t want her anymore. Then she’d pick him and they’d leave Minas Tirith together. He smiled at her. “I promise won’t hurt you Calista,” he said as he drew her down to the hay. In outrage she fought but he laid her back before she could lever her legs to keep herself upright. “Please, this is the only way!” He said more forcefully as he bore her down into the hay.

Calista hadn’t wanted to slap Ragon, but he had left her no other choice. She needed to get away from him, to allow him to calm down and come to his senses. However, before she could try to get around him, he grabbed her and shook her rather roughly. She tried to pry herself free from his grasp, but he was far stronger than she was. His fingers dug into her skin through her dress and she knew he was going to leave bruises. She didn’t understand what he was saying. What did he mean ‘what if Eldarion didn’t want her anymore’? But then as he forced her down onto the hay she understood and panic gripped her. She struggled and kicked against him.

“Ragon stop!” she cried as tears began to stream down her cheeks. “Please don’t do this...I thought you were my friend.”

Even with tears in her eyes he thought Calista beautiful. He loved her, wanted her, far more than Eldarion did. He wouldn’t get caught up in statuses or noble this or noble that, she was a woman, his best friend and he was a man who loved her. He began to fumble at her skirts to pull down her britches. “I am your friend Calista, I love you,” he said as she felt his bare fingers crawl up her thigh. He kissed her cheek and fought with her own hands to pull down her britches further than she could reach so she couldn’t pull them up again.

Ragon had never been with a woman, he was a virgin as well his thick hand rested on the flesh between her legs but he didn’t really know what else to do so he withdrew his hand to begin on his own britches. She was making alot of noise so his other hand went to her mouth and covered it. He felt her exhale warmly through her nostrils and she mumbled and cried behind his hand. He knew he just needed to get this over with...he had wanted her this way for a long time, then she’d be his forever.

ooc: Who did you want to come to her rescue? or herself, she could knee him good in the nuts!

OOC-she could have an older brother or it could be Eldarion

ooc: Eldarion is probably best that way no one will know of this.

Calista’s eyes widened even further when she felt his hand pull up her skirt and grab her britches and start to pull them down. She was shaking and her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she thought it would burst out. She tried to scream when she felt his hand move up between her legs, but he quickly covered her mouth. She heard him fighting with his own britches and she knew that she only had a small amount of time to try and get someone’s attention. She bit his hand that was covering her mouth as hard as she could and when he yelped and pulled it back she began to scream for help. She hoped that someone would hear her...anyone.

It was one of those mornings that Eldarion wanted to surprise Calista. Normally she HATEd, really hated him to show up unannounced before she could make herself up. He thought it a grand joke...and wanted to play it again this morning. To his surprise though he spotted her down a level on his way and instead of calling out to her he decided to see where she went. It wasn’t that it was odd her being out so early but he was curious and so he followed.

He had thought he lost her by the stables as he ran by but her cries for help made him stumble to a halt and run back. He thought it sounded like Calista’s voice and she sounded terrified! He ran as fast as his feet would carry him until he flung himself to a halt at the stable doors. What he saw inside in the hay both shocked and outraged him. It was...Calista and RAGON! And...and he had her britches almost off!

Without thought he bound over the stable door and before he knew what he was doing he was punching Ragon over and over with his fist in the head, eye, face and mouth. Ragon tried to shield himself from the vicious onslaught but Eldarion was so angry he had lost control. It was actually Calista who pulled him off of him. Ragon’s face was a mass of cuts, gashes and bruises. “I’ll kill you! Damn you Ragon, you’re dead!” Eldarion snarled as Calista clamped her arms over his shoulders to keep him down. She knew if she did not he just might kill Ragon. She felt him quiver with rage.

Although she was screaming for help, Ragon continued on...moving a little faster. She began to sob, thinking no one had heard her, but to her shock she heard someone and looked over to see Eldarion. She had never seen rage in Eldarion’s eyes before, but she did that day. He seemed to lose complete control and yanked Ragon off of her and began to punch him over and over again. Calista somehow managed to grab Eldarion and stopped him. She was still trembling and tears were still streaming down her cheeks, but she didn’t want Eldarion to hurt Ragon any further.

“Please...please Eldarion...let’s just go...please. He’s not going to do anything else…”

Realizing that what Calista said made sense, she still sounded terrified in between her sobs he relented. He shifted and tried to help her put to rights her dress and what all was under it. He could tell this embarrassed her but couldn’t stop hugging her, kissing her cheek and telling her over and over that she was alright though it was just as much for him as it was for her. Together they ran for a time until they collapsed onto a bench in a small, stoney courtyard. He had never been to this one but they were alone and out of breath. From his breast pocket he pulled out his flask, unscrewed the cork then shakily took a sip from it. He sighed then handed it over to her. His hand shook, a little and she would noticed that his knuckles were red, cut and bruised. Eldarion always carried a flask of apple brandy though he never much drank at it. He also handed her his laced, handkerchief.

“Are you….did he,” he tried to say softly what was on his mind but couldn’t.

Calista was relieved when Eldarion finally relented. Her face was red from crying and from shame and embarrassment as Eldarion helped her to right her clothing. She then left the stables with Eldarion, not even looking back at Ragon. She felt sick to her stomach and in shock still as Eldarion drew her away from the stables and through the streets. She felt as if they weren’t moving at all, but suddenly she found herself in a small courtyard sitting on a bench. She wasn’t entirely sure how she got there. She was still visibly trembling and found she couldn’t even look at Eldarion, even though it had been Ragon who had attacked her. Somehow she felt that this was her fault. She slowly took the flask and took a sip with a shaking hand. Some of it got onto her dress, but she didn’t care.

“No...you...you stopped him just before…”

She suddenly just broke down and started to sob hard. “This is all my fault. He told me he loved me and wanted to marry me. I didn’t realize he felt that way. I told him I loved you, but he wouldn’t listen. He...he believed if he...if we...that you wouldn’t want me anymore.”

The brandy made him want to sick up but when she passed it back and explained he took another sip. “Don’t you do that Calista. You are not to blame for this. And I’d take you any way I could get you so don’t even think it,” he lied. It would have to a degree. But even as he thought it that degree faded into nothingness. It wasn’t good to think on what did not happen. He actually felt like making a joke about her legs but he held himself back from saying it just then. “Do I need to post a guard on you for the next two weeks?” he asked only half joking now. “I...i was terrified,” he admitted. And not for himself.

Calista slowly managed to calm down. It wasn't easy, but she somehow managed it. She tried not to think about what could have happened. Thankfully, it hadn't. She looked over at him slightly.

"Please don't tell anyone about this..."

“Do you think you had to ask that?” He slid over and put his arm around her. No one would ever know what happened just a few minutes ago, no one. If they did Ragon would likely be hung and honestly Eldarion would not have minded that at all. “Would you like me to leave you be for a while? I’ll do whatever you need me to do Calista. Anything,” he told her softly.

Calista shook her head and moved even closer to him as he held her.

"No, please don't leave me. I...I don't want to be alone right now."

She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. Just hearing his heartbeat managed to calm her.

For a time he said nothing, only let her calm down as he picked hay from her hair. When she seemed...better he decided he needed to ask her. “Calista,” he began slowly. “If...if there is anything you need to tell me, you know...uh, you know you can, I won’t hold it against you,” he said softly. Another lie? He thought that maybe it wasn’t this time. He wanted to marry her. If she had already been with another man it wouldn’t really matter now. “I don’t want you to think that you need to be ‘pure’ or anything for me,” he said frankly. He didn’t want to upset her but he wanted to know if there had been...other instances where he had ‘not’ been able to stop it. Or instances she didn’t want stopped. he had come close a couple times but other than fondling he had never gone beyond that.

Calista pulled back and looked at him and into his eyes. She wanted him to know she was telling him the truth.

"No, Eldarion. I haven't been with anyone. You are the only one that I would have ever considered...but I want to wait now. We only have two more weeks."

It was perhaps the way she had said that that made him blush. Had she knew what he was thinking? Now he was the one to feel embarrassed. How women did that...how ‘she’ did that was completely unfair. It still made him pouty though. If she made love to him then it would be done and no one could take it back. She would be tied to him marriage or no and they would be married, even though it was really more for her than himself. Even if it were it didn’t matter. Her tone told him that there would be no discussion on this matter so he decided to let it go. 2 weeks was not a long time...well, not very long. “Then...can your hero at least get a kiss?” he asked dryly. His knuckles would likely be sore for a week and she never even said thank you.

ooc: Hi, i also started a brand new side story if you ever need a break of the Middle earth stuff. If you want to proceed with it, you may but I'm going to be the narrator for it and you are the character and I don't wish to tell you anything but what is written, that way its more mysterious for you. You can ask OOC questions, in fact, if you do not you might be hindered to a degree. feel free to ask for better descriptions of things if you want, you might learn something useful in them.

Shattered World